3 Steps to Developing an Effective Metal Recycling Program for Your Industrial Facility
Posted on: 11 February 2021
Does your facility generate a substantial amount of metal waste? You should embrace recycling as part of your waste management program. Metal recycling is good for the environment. It reduces the quantity of metal that ends up in landfills and saves the energy used in the production of metals. Recycling ensures that all waste metal is consolidated in one place and sold or handed out to scrapers. Below are three steps to developing an effective metal recycling program in your facility.
Define Waste Metal Generation Patterns
The first step is to establish your waste metal generation patterns. Answer the following questions:
- What type of metal do you generate?
- What are the estimated quantities of scrap metal produced in the facility?
- Which stages of production generate scrap metal?
For example, if your industry handles metal fabrication jobs, you can expect to generate a lot of waste metal from the process. Have an estimate of the types of metal and quantities produced per month. For example, if you handle structural steel, aluminum, iron, silver, gold, or copper, you need to determine the specific quantities.
Develop a Dual-Stream Approach
Industrial facilities generate a lot of recyclable waste, including metal. To develop a good metal recycling program, segregate scrap metal from other types of waste. Adopting a single-stream recycling approach is not a good idea. Since all recyclables are dumped in one corner, it becomes hard to separate the metals from other items. Subsequently, most of the materials may end up in the landfills.
A dual-stream approach allows you to separate scrap metal from other materials such as plastic, wood, glass, paper, and concrete. Separating the materials reduces contamination and preserves the metal's end value. This way, each piece of material can end up in a salvage yard for recycling. Invest in recycling containers specifically designed for waste metal.
Partner With a Good Recycling Company
Handling metal recycling on your own may be a difficult task. Your facility may not be able to keep up with the process, especially if you don't have a dedicated in-house department. Therefore, partner with a good metal recycling company or salvage yard. Professional scrappers can undertake the following tasks:
- Sort scrap metal into ferrous and non-ferrous materials
- Remove non-metal parts
- Clean the metal
- Transport scrap metal to a recycling facility
All you need to do is store the materials and the company will do the rest for you. Remember, waste metal is valuable. Therefore, besides taking the materials away, the scrappers will also pay for them depending on their weight and value.
Developing a metal recycling program is a great initiative for reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. Take the above steps to establish an effective system for your plant. Contact companies that offer waste management solutions to learn more.
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